Portable electronic devices which can play sound come in a variety of different configurations. With the state of the art advancing beyond removable sound storing media such as cassette tapes and CD players, to solid state or hard disk containing devices (with sound containing media in the form of digital files stores on memory within the device itself rather than upon removable media), the shapes of such devices have changed somewhat. Many such devices generally tend to have at least one dimension which is quite thin and less than twenty-five percent of the extent of the other dimensions. Such devices typically are orthorhombic in shape with three pairs of opposing parallel sides. A thinest dimension generally extends between a front and a back of such a device. A four sided perimeter edge is presented between the front and back which is quite thin with two shorter sides referred to as ends and two longer sides referred to as lateral sides.
Examples of such electronic sound playing devices include MP3 players (e.g. iPods from Apple, Inc.) and smartphones (e.g. iPhones from Apple, Inc.), as well as tablet devices (e.g. iPads from Apple, Inc.). Collectively, such devices are referred to herein as “smart devices” for convenience. While the dimensions of such devices vary, they still generally have this orthorhombic shape with a thinnest dimension between a front and a back.
When such devices are playing sound, the sound can be enjoyed generally in two ways. First, a headphone jack is typically provided to which headphones or earbuds can be attached for sound enjoyment. Secondarily, such devices typically have a speaker from which sound can emanate to fill a space adjacent the device. This speaker is typically provided on the lower end of the device.
Generally, the speakers on such devices are deficient in at least two ways. First, because the power of such devices is limited to what can be stored on a battery contained therein, the amount of sound amplification is limited. Second, because the speakers do not have a geometry optimized for high quality sound, the sound tends to have a low quality and volume.
A variety of ad hoc solutions to this problem are known in the prior art. For instance, it is known to merely place a smartphone within a bowl and to have improved sound emanate therefrom, improved in both volume and tonal quality. However, such a solution is only useful when a bowl is available for such use, as it is not convenient to carry a bowl with the sound generating device for sound amplification. Accordingly, a need exists for a sound amplifier for a smart device which can conveniently be carried with the device itself and to be readily deployed and re-collapsed when desired.